Octagonal Orb - Ta Da and on the way to London

There she is, the Octagonal Orb quilt. This quilt is about 60" x 76" or she was before she was washed. Now she is crinkly and soft. This block was designed by Elizabeth Hartman and the tutorial is here. The blocks for this quilt were made by my bee mates from the Always Bee Learning bee and me. It is going to be handed over to Siblings Together at the Fat Quarterly Retreat later this week, right now it is with me at the airport, soon to be in the air.



I am so proud of this quilt. The talented and generous women in Always Bee Learning each pulled out 80 pieces of fabric (that includes the various grey solids) and stitched them together for each single block. Some of them made two blocks. Many of them fussy cut fabrics. We all tried to keep a teenage boy in mind - it is colourful but not girly, and many of these fabrics will appeal especially to boys.



For the back, I pieced lots of Kona Charcoal and some long strips and then I just sliced and inserted them, hoping for the best. I am so happy with how this back turned out.



The quilting is not at all straight lines, two are about 1/2" apart, then one about 1/4" apart. The not straight lines gives it an organic, and urban feel, not sweet, or pretty or fancy. I consider this kind of quilting to be modern industrial.



After a wash and dry, the quilt is soft and cuddly. All this quilting did not make it stiff at all. And it has been washed and dried in warm water and warm dryer, it is clearly sturdy and fine for a teenager.



This quilt used 1000 metres of Aurafil 40 wt. grey thread. I will count the lines when I put on the label, a lot of quilting.



I bound it by machine, using Marianne's excellent tutorial which is here.  And look, I managed to get all four corners the first time round.



These last two photos were taken before she was washed.



So 80 pieces of fabric a block, 920 pieces in total plus the borders and the back. Many fussy cuts too. 1000 metres of quilting thread (half is in the bobbin so really the quilting stretches 500 metres). This quilt is full of love and care, and I hope that it will wrap a teenage boy in caring when he needs it, when he is lonely for his siblings. Quilters are really generous, and have sent lots of love with this quilt.



All packed, we are boarding in 5 minutes. A little sappy for a Tuesday night. Thank you to all my friends in Always Bee Learning, this project is one to be proud of.

Edited: I delivered this quilt into the hands of the Siblings Together representatives and it was a wonderful evening where many many beautiful quilts were donated. I am linking up to 100 Quilts for Kids.

Best,

Leanne